You're So Lucky That I'm Around
by no-cars-go
Summary: Timberly learns the secret about Helga that could kill her reputation in seconds while Arnold is busy with a new love interest.  Only one chapter up so far though, so please review and let me know what you think of it!
1. Puddles, bikes and green eyes

_Monday, September 13th 7:30 AM_

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-_

Jumping up in bed, Helga raced across the room to turn off her alarm clock. She had purposely placed it on the dresser on the other side of her room so that she wouldn't sleep in.

For the life of her; Helga never seemed to be able to fall asleep the night before her first day of school. And when she was running on only a couple of hours of sleep it was easier to just hit the off button and fall back asleep without realizing it.

Helga was so exhausted that her eyes were wide-awake and she didn't feel the least bit tired. In fact she felt as if she had just chugged a whole thermos of black coffee. She picked up her stack of neatly folded clothes (she had all the time in the world to do that the previous night) and set them on her bed. She was secretly looking forward to wearing her new jacket and new pair of shoes. Of course; she could never let Miriam know that especially after throwing a tantrum in the department store just a week ago.

Today was her first day of 6th grade and she was looking forward to class with Arnold. Of course she had seen him a quite a bit during the summer; but the last month of vacation he had went on vacation with his grandparents.

Helga rubbed her eyes and sat down on the bed. It was still warm where she had been sleeping and she placed her hand on the fleece bedding. Despite her feelings of being completely awake, she yawned.

So...soft..._so warm..._

"What do you mean _how did that happen_? You do it every morning, Miriam!! Just put the stinkin' tabasco sauce on the bottom shelf!" Helga bolted upright in her bed to the sound of her father yelling in his booming voice downstairs. She glanced at the clock.

8:20A.M

School started in twenty minutes.

Helga panicked and pulled her clothes on as fast as she could, quickly tied her bow in her hair; then she heard the door slam. Her dad had already left. She grabbed her backpack and nearly fell down the stairs. She ran out the door into the street where she saw her fathers car.

"Okay fine. No big deal I'll just take the-"

A city bus just drove past her house at that very instant.

"Alright Helga, _now_ you can get pissed."Helga kicked a large rock near her foot; instantly scuffing her new shoe. Goaning in anger and desperation; she thought desperately about what she should do. Asking Miriam to take her to school out of the question. She was probably beyond passed out on the couch and didn't have a valid driver's license anyway.

Then Helga saw a metal object shining from behind her house; just barely poking out past the brick wall.

"That's it!" Helga snapped her finger excitedly. With no time to waste she ran to the back of her house and pulled out her red bike that her father had gotten her for her last birthday. She hadn't ridden it much so it had a few cobwebs.

In no time at all; she was on her way to school even with a few minutes to spare. A few drops of water fell on her face. It wasn't too big of a deal considering she would get to school in no time.

Then; she saw a packard drive past her. It wasn't just any packard, it was a green one. And she saw a blonde tuff of hair just barely showing through the window and a profile she knew all to well.

Helga gasped a little out loud and grinned ear to ear. Her heart skipped a beat and all of a sudden she felt as though her new jacket was just too warm despite the raindrops that were falling faster and heavier.

Her sudden happiness disappeared just as quickly as it had come. The tire of her bike hit a deep ditch in the curb and she fell instantly to the ground and on top of her bike; full pressure. Her book bag flew into the air and her notebooks and papers fell into the rain puddles that had just formed minutes ago.

Now it was full on raining. And Helga was sitting on a bike; on the sidewalk, her new clothes wet, and everything she needed for school was destroyed.

8:31 AM.

"Why fight it, Helga? Today is going to blow!" she angrily mumbled to herself as she wobbled herself up. Her knees were scraped by the cement and it was hard for her to walk. Throwing her now useless school belongings into her bookbag, she picked up her bike. The chain had come off and she had no idea how to fix it.

She had no other choice. She would have to walk to school with a broken bike in the rain. There was no way she was going to be on time.

Finally reaching the school; she breathed a sigh of relief. When she entered the building it was too warm for her and she felt uncomfortable in what felt like layers and layers of clothing.

Still trying to comprehend what she had gone through that morning, she held her head down and rubbed her fingers through her damp bangs. Helga walked towards the nurses office; and just when she was about to turn a corner, she felt body contact and a brush of soft hair against her cheek for a brief moment. She knew that scent all to well.

8:53 A.M

Her eyes were flooded with blue, then a touch of red. And then, slightly tanned skin and golden hair. His hair looked like it was just recently washed and even as he fell away from her body she could still feel his long wisps of hair against her cold cheeks that seemed to heat up in a quick second. Then they locked eyes and Helga could feel her cheeks turning red. She hadn't stared into those eyes for what felt like an eternity. His deep green eyes with flecks of brown and gold hypnotized her and she felt her throat dry up. She wanted to say something but was far too mesmerized. Shaking her head, she jumped back.

"_Helga_?"

"Well look who it is. What a fantastic way to start the school year, football head." She quickly scoffed.

"Sorry Helga-wow you don't look so good. What happened?" Arnold asked in his usual concerned voice.

"Who died and made _you_ Captain Obvious? Not that it's really any of your business, but I got off to a late start this morning."

"Yeah I kind of thought it looked like something a long those lines...we were kind of wondering when you were or, if you were, going to show up today. Well, I have to drop these papers off to Mr. Wartz, but let me walk you to the nurse's," Arnold insisted. Helga died a little inside.

"Alright, alright if it'll make you feel better about yourself, Arnold-O.." she lowered a single eyebrow (Rhonda had finally gotten her to understand the beauty of having two eyebrows instead of one over the summer) and led the way down the hall.

She couldn't help but form a small smile as she placed her fingers on her cheek where she could still feel his hair.

Then she felt herself beginning to blush again.

_This...Helga...is going to be a very, very long school year..."_

* * *

Reviews please! Be nice ; Thanks for reading! I swear it will get way more interesting (and funny!) later on. First chapters are usually the most boring ones. Thanks again! XD


	2. Potatoes for Lunch

**_Hey guys, sorry for the long wait!! I had very severe writers block. This chapter isn't leading up to much, but this fanfic has an actual plot, I promise!!_**

* * *

"Helga? Helga, honey are you okay?"  
Jumping up on the medical examination bed , she shook her head and realized that she had dazed off as the school nurse had just finished bandaging up her ankle. 

"_What!?_ Oh, uh, yeah I'm fine," she responded quickly.

Well, you need to learn to play less rough, missy. Especially on your first day of school!" Sheena's aunt told her as nicely but as matter-of-factly as she usually told her things.

"WHAT?! But it wasn't-" Helga started, beginning to get very, very annoyed.

"Now, if you don't have a p.e uniform with you, I can get one from the gym teacher since you won't want to wear those damp and dirty clothes all day. Meanwhile, I can put those clothes in the dryer for you."

"Are you _joking_ me? I can't wear a p.e uniform on the first day of school," Helga folded her arms.

"Well I'm sorry Helga, but it's against the school code to wear torn clothes caked in mud. I'm afraid there's really no other option..." the nurse tried reasoning with Helga.

"Oh, no. There is no way I'm going to wear a p.e uniform to class..."

* * *

Helga clenched her small fists and stood outside room number 126. 

"I can't _BELIEVE_ I'm wearing a p.e uniform to the first day of class. Can this day get any worse?" In one hand she held a notebook and a pen and pencil the nurse had given her, and in the other, a small piece of paper excusing the fact that she was tardy. She closed her eyes and pushed open the door.

Refusing to look at the students (she stared from peripheral vision; and could feel her face flush when she was barely able to make out Arnold's hair from the back fo the classroom) she quickly handed the pink slip to her new teacher; Mr. Frank. Instantly, there was a shuffling of feet going through the class and students began to whisper quietly to one another.

"You must be Helga Pitaki, thanks for showing up"  
he answered in a slow, monotone voice. Helga wished he would just let her sit down in her seat. Then she realized she didn't know where she was supposed to sit.

"We're just going over some rules, so just have a seat right..." Mr. Frank pulled out a clipboard and traced his finger along the piece of paper.

"There." He pointed to a seat in the back row. It was the only empty seat in the classroom, and it was also a desk next to none other then-Arnold. His hands were folded on his open notebook and he gave her a small welcoming smile.

Before she could feel her ears turn warm she quickly walked back to the seat. She wanted to sit next to him as soon as she could; and she wanted all the attention off her as soon as possible.

"Wait, ma'am. You need to have this syllabus signed and bought back to me on Friday. If you turn it in tommorrow you get extra credit," Mr. Frank held up a yellow sheet of paper in her direction. A few students giggled.

Clenching her teeth, Helga quickly took the paper from him and sat back down in her seat.

As Mr. Frank continued on with his lecture, Helga breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hi again," Arnold whispered next to her. Helga wanted to melt. Instead she clenched her fist on her desk. Harold was snoring next to her.

Helga ignored Arnold and rolled her eyes, letting out a groan of annoyance.

"Okay class. The other teachers and Mr. Wartz have decided to entertain a new program called "RIC." R-I-C stands for Reading is Cool. The point we are trying to get across is that by reading, you can better broaden your mind and open up even more doors to creativity and intelligence."

Crickets chirped.

"So starting next week you all will be assigned a reading buddy from the 3rd grade. You will act as role model and help to motivate. A "big-brother big-sister" type of project, if you will."

The class groaned.

Helga crumpled up a piece of paper. "Great. Why don't I just gouge my eye out with a pencil?" she mumbled.

"Did you say something, Miss Pitaki?" Mr. Frank lowered an eyebrow.

"No sir. Nothing at all." She quickly replied with a tint of sarcasm.

"Good. Now if it's alright with you I'd like to go on with today's lesson?"

Helga sank in her chair.

* * *

"I'd _really_ rather not get into this again, Pheebs . It's bad enough I had to humiliate myself in front of the entire class right after it," Helga took a swig of her Yahoo soda.

"Oh, sorry Helga. Anyway, you didn't miss much. He just talked about the rules. General first day stuff," Phoebe replied.

"Figures . That teacher is worse then what's his face, Simmons," Helga began, fishing for something to complain about. "And I can't believe that damned project he wants us to do!" Helga blurted. Over the summer she began to pick up some of her father's language and actually took a bit of enjoyment in using them. Sometimes she did it purposely but mostly only when she was very upset. Of course Phoebe had told her not to do it and didn't like it when she did.

"Helga..." Phoebe started, lowering her eyebrows.

"I mean seriously, what a load of-" before Helga could say another word, she felt a tray of warm, moist potatoes smash into her face. She was so shocked she didn't say anything. She heard Phoebe gasp as she began to wipe the gooey mess off of her face and shoulders. It wasn't just potatoes, she also f found peas and carrots in the mixture as well as what felt to be milk.

She was now furious beyond words that she couldn't find. Spitting out the potatoes and wiping her eyes with the napkin that Phoebe had given to her, she opened her eye.

"_Who. Did. This?_" She spat. The cafeteria was silent and every student in it was afraid to look her in the eye. She saw the double doors of the cafeteria slam shut and a foot scamper out from behind them. She stood up so quickly she knocked over her chair and ran as fast as she could through the doors.

She saw Sid, Stinky and Harold sprinting down the hallway.

_"I'm going to get you! Every single one of you! When I get me hands on you!"_ Helga screamed as she began panting.

"H-Harold done thrown that tray atcha Helga! I swear it!!" Stinky called, turning his head just a little bit.

"Nuh uh! That was all you!"

They all three began shoving each other, then there was an intersection in the hallway. Harold kept going straight, Sid turned left, and Stinky turned right. Not taking any chances, Helga ran towards Harold. She knew Sid and Stinky would _never_ do a thing like that on their own. Her emotions had bottled up so much there was a sudden burst of energy as she wrapped her her arm in a headlock around Harold and pushed him to the ground. She pinned him down as she sat on him and just as she began to swing at him, she felt a hand touching her elbow.

"Miss Pitaki, please come with me."

It was Mr. Frank. He looked very annoyed. And standing behind him was a large crowd of her classmates including Arnold. They made eye contact for a brief moment."_Arnold_! I mean.  
he started it! He-"

"What seems to be the problem?" It was Mr. Wartz  
.  
"_Miss Pitaki!_" he started. "It's the first day of school what on EARTH do you think you are doing! Get off Mr.Berman right this instance!"

Harold was so terrified he looked as if he might pee himself.

Helga's face turned red with anger and embarrassment. She stood up. Her hair was matted with potatoes and parts of her shirt stuck to her skin. She sighed. _Why fight it?_ she thought to herself. She glared at Harold and gave him a "I'll get you later" look. Harold scampered away.

"Miss Pitaki I think you should go home and clean-up. Today isn't a very good day for you," Mr. Frank said. "I'm going to call your parents and I hope you can sort some issues out."

Standing being Mr. Frank was Arnold. She thought her eyes were deceiving her when she saw what she thought was a bit of sympathy in his eyes.

"I think that's quite a fine idea. I really do hope today does _not_ reflect your final year at P.S 118 Miss Pit-oky."

She was already furious beyond belief, but Mr.Wartz' mispronunciation of her name just made it just a thousand times more unbearable.

* * *

**_What do you guys think? Am I using way too much detail? I was afraid this chapter is a lot longer then it should have been. Thanks!!_**


	3. When it rains, it pours

WOW! A *long* time since I've uploaded something new! Haha, okay well here you go. Short but gets to the points. CC is greatly appreciated; I'm really looking forward to writing up a fourth chapter ^_^

* * *

62 tiles.

Yep.

62 tiles on her living room ceiling. She had counted them 14 different times, and had also been lectured by her father 14 times. Coincidence? Yeah. Sure.

"Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Big B snapped. Miriam was pacing back and forth on the carpet behind him with a martini glass in her hand. "More like when you're talking _at_ me," Helga mumbled. She lifted her head from the back of the sofa chair. Her hair was still wet from her recent shower. It stuck to her neck and the top of her shirt was damp from her wet hair.

"Don't talk back to me! Now I want you to shape up, pronto! It's hardly the first day of school and you're already acting out with your little classmates," her father shook his finger at her. Helga stood up.

"Yeah, you got it B," she told him as she walked towards the stairs. As soon as she started walking up the steps she heard her parents whispering. The fact that they were talking ABOUT her was infuriating enough, but when she heard the name "Olga," her foot stopped in midair, just inches above the step. Actually she didn't think she even _heard_ her sister's name; Helga could just kind of sense it. Or smell it? Then the door bell rang and her parents ran to the door.

A chill ran up her spine. She really, really wished someone had told her about this.

"It's her! It's her!" It was pathetic to Helga the way her parents fawned over her sister, and how excited they got every time she came to visit. _I understand they miss their daughter but damn, do they have to go all apeshit every single time she comes?_

"BONJOUR BABY SISTER!" Before Helga could make it up the stairs, she felt her sister's arms around her, kissing her hair. "You look so precious! My baby sister is growing up...oh and I see you finally did something about that unibrow!" Olga's face was just inches from Helga, causing Helga to step back a couple feet in slight discomfort.

Helga put on a forced smile, ear-to-ear. "Wow Olga. It's so great that you've come to visit. But I think I have a few things I have to take care of in my room..."

"Okay He-lga, but I'm so excited for dinner. I'm going to prepare a beef wellington and a raspberry soufflé. I also have an announc-" Olga went on.

"Yeah that's great Olga. But I really have to get started on...my project. It's due soon."

"See you in an hour baby sister!"

_Yeah...right._ Helga rolled her eyes, closed the door behind her, and plopped herself down onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, more than content to be able to finally be by herself. She dozed off.

What seemed like seconds later there was a loud pounding on the door, and it startled Helga and caused her heart to pound as she quickly sat up. "Hey! Helga! Dinner's ready, get down here so we can eat!"

Helga let out a loud frustrated sigh (of course making sure her father heard.)

"Com-ing daaaad," she said in her infamous whiney voice. She ran her fingers quickly through her hair; it was matted and kinky due to falling asleep while it was still wet.

"Well good morning baby sister!" Olga grinned, taking a stab at Helga's disheveled appearance. Helga, however, was not in the mood.

"Thank God, now we can finally eat," Big Bob exclaimed as he tucked a napkin into his shirt collar.

Helga took a seat between Olga and her father, her mother sitting directly across from her. They began to talk about school, work, recipes, and of course how perfect their eldest daughter was. She had to admit though, the beef wellington was delicious. About a half hour into dinner, Olga began to tap her wine glass with a fork and stood up.

"Okay everybody. I have a wonderful announcement to make before dessert..." Olga began. She then went into detail about her six years of schooling and blah blah blah.

Helga began to feel very nervous. Last time Olga had a "wonderful announcement" she ended up humiliating Helga more than she could have ever imagined in front of the entire 4th grade class.

_"...And that is why I decided to become a full time student-teacher at P.S 118 this year!"_ Olga blurted in one breath. Miriam let out a loud, excited squeal while Bob clapped his hands and congratulated Olga.

To stop herself from spitting her milk out all over the table, Helga quickly gagged and swallowed a mouthful of milk. A bit of milk began to trickle from her nasal cavity.

"You're doing _what?!"_ Helga's eyes widened. She put a hand on her forehead.

"Well Helga, I've decided I want to take a short break from my schooling...so I thought, what better way? I get to help with the art of educating darling children and I get to be around my baby sister!"

"Okay great...but, what classroom are you going to be in?" Helga asked. There was just a small bit of hope in the back of her mind. It was tiny and almost nonexistent, but it was there.

"Mr. Franks 6th grade class, of course!! You're most of the reason I decided to take this job! Now, I wasn't in today because I still have paperwork to complete but I start next Monday. Aren't you excited??"

Olga had her hands on her cheeks and the enormous grin on her face made Helga want to punch something. Or someone. The room seemed as if it was spinning. Today was probably the single worst day of her entire life. Her parents continued showering Olga with praise while Helga just sat, staring at her plate.

Helga was speechless during the rest of dinner and even excused herself early, barely touching the raspberry soufflé. She could hear her sister downstairs playing Tchaikovsky on the piano. This only annoyed her more.

What a disaster.

Helga rolled over on her bed and pulled out a small locket from her bedside drawer. It had a picture of Arnold in it. She had stopped tucking her locket into her blouse; after having been almost caught with it one too many times she decided it would be much safer to just leave it at home.

"Oh Arnold, what a fool I made of myself today. Though 6th grade began with a rough start, this year is going to be different. I'm not going to let Olga get in the way of my goals. I'm going to let you into my true feelings; for it is not fair that you don't know how I truly feel about you; that I love you more than you'll ever know, despite how harsh I am at times. I need you to know that what I said that night on the F.T.I building was nothing but the truth, and I still mean every single word to this day. The truth still stands; I love you Arnold..._LOVE YOU!"_

And then it began to pour.


End file.
